Can Prominent Ears Be "Pinned Back" Without Surgery?
Prominent or protruding ears are often hereditary, and can affect confidence from an early age. According to sciencedirect.com, up to 1 in 20 adults have “Prominauris” or protruding ears (1). SECPRE, the Spanish Society of Plastic Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery, say that nearly half (46.5%) of interventions in under 18s are for corrective ear surgery, although ear pinning surgery, known as otoplasty/pinnaplasty, is not recommended in very young patients as the ears are still developing. Corrective surgery is generally not available on the NHS, with private costs around £3,000 (2), and is not always guaranteed to be a success..
The good news for parents concerned that their children may experience name calling and other bullying due to their prominent ears is that a non-surgical treatment using a silicone prosthetic corrector is available which has been shown to significantly reduce the protruding ears of subjects aged 3-72 months old without surgery. This was the conclusion of a pioneering study on protruding ears, published in the journal of Spanish Primary Care Pediatrics Association AEPAP (Asociación Española de Pediatría de Atención Primaria).
The study, led by paediatrician Dr. Cecilia Matilde Gómez, measured the remedial effect of “Otostick Baby” silicone prosthetics over 12 months on children aged from 3 months to 6 years as an alternative to surgery at a later age.
The study was conducted on a sample of 60 patients, aged between 3 and 72 months old, with protruding ears. The patients were divided into three age groups (3 to 12 months, 13 to 36 months and from 37 to 72 months) to analyse data by age and to identify the ideal age to commence use of the prostheses.
After 12 months of use and periodic monitoring of patients, 90.7% of patients who completed the study achieved a ‘good’ 6-10 mm or ‘reasonable’ 3-5 mm of correction. The study concluded that the use of Otostick baby is effective in infants in all age ranges tested, successfully reducing the prominence of protruding ears without surgery, though the best results were noted in the 13-36 month age range.
This means that the cost of correction with Otostick Baby could be less than 10% of the cost of the equivalent corrective surgery.
Commenting on the study, Francisca Gamero, creator of Otostick said: "The benefit of correcting protruding ears is psychological as well as aesthetic. This study is very revealing, because it shows the effectiveness of a non-surgical method to correct infant’s ears before the child is aware of their aesthetic appearance and before they can experience any psychological impact. "
Nick Thompson of UK distributor Zurego Ltd. adds: "This study clearly demonstrates the long-term benefits of Otostick Baby. It is able to permanently correct a physical issue in young children that can have serious future psychological effects on those affected. In addition, we hope that this will reduce the demand for costly and painful surgery for many families in future, saving money and worry.”
This does seem likely, as a study at the University Hospital of North Staffordshire indicated, the correction of protruding ears in children aged 5-16 years reduced or ended bullying in 100% of cases, it increased levels of happiness by 97%, self-confidence by 92% and improved social experience for 79% of the affected children (3).
Each Otostick Baby corrector is about the size of a contact lens or 5p piece, it is painless and easy to apply. Each corrector should remain in place for up to 7 days, meaning a pack will last up to 4 weeks. Each pack of 8 Otostick Baby correctors also includes a retainer cap to reduce any risk of baby accidentally removing the correctors, as their size means they could present a choking hazard to an infant.